This Is the Way the World Ends
by myscout14
Summary: <html><head></head>After fleeing the city, the gang is left on their own. With no one to take care of them, and Leo still practically dead, what will happen to them? Will New York ever be saved? Will Leo ever wake up? Will Sensei ever return? If you love adventure, suspense, and plot twists then come join the madness. I dare you :)</html>
1. Chapter 1

**Hello my lovely readers! I am so sorry for no stories, no word, and no nothing from me for so long. I am a horrible person. I am especially sorry for abandoning **_**The Plan**_**. It just wasn't working. Well, now I have some news for y'all. As you can see from clicking on this, I am starting a new story! I have no idea where this is headed. Seriously. Not a clue, but if you like suspense, plot twists and action then you have come to the right place. Please remember to comment after reading- the more comments there are, the sooner a new chapter will be posted. Thanks for reading! Enjoy the chapter, and have an amazing day!**

I remembered when Leo crashed through that window. I was terrified.

I remembered watching Sensei drown. I was shocked.

I remembered fleeing the city. I was devastated.

I remembered arriving at the house. I was angry.

I remembered waiting for my brother to wake up. I was disappointed.

It had been three months. I didn't think he was ever going to wake up, but no one would dare tell Raph that. He kept a constant vigil at Leo's side, day in and day out, night after night, just waiting. Sure, he still trained with us, but things were different; we could all tell. Sensei wasn't there to guide us, and Leo wasn't there to help us.

When we had gotten to the farmhouse we were all still reeling from the shock of the day. The punches had just never stopped coming. First Irma the Kraang, then the invasion, then we all became separated, mutagen was everywhere. Leo flew through the window nearly dead, my dad was mutated… _again_, and we had to leave the city we loved. Casey's family was gone, and two of my best friends were too, even though technically, Irma was never real. I couldn't lose anyone else. Leo was my best friend, like an older brother. Donnie and I had our moments, but the one I knew I could go to without fail for help was Leo. Now he was gone, ripped from us cruelly by the Shredder.

Donnie wouldn't tell us anything, but you could see it in his eyes. That purple bandana masked tear stains and dark circles. He was a wreck, and who could blame him? The survival of his older brother rested entirely on his shoulders. Things were tough, tougher than they had ever been. I thought the technodrome was insane, but this were an entirely new level of crazy. People turned into monsters on a city wide scale? It should never have been possible.

I didn't think anything could be worse than waiting for your older brother to appear and magically not be dead, and I only experienced that for a few minutes when the technodrome crashed all those years ago.

Three months have passed.

I missed how it used to be, but I knew we could never return to late night movies and pizza or training in a real dojo with a sensei instead of on dew soaked grass in the morning. I wanted to eat real, uncanned food, and I wanted to take a walk without being afraid the Kraang were venturing further into the world. I wanted to joke and laugh and goof off with the guys. What I really wanted was my family. I wanted my family back.

"April!" roared a distinctively deep voice from the house, interrupting my thoughts.

"What is it, Raph?" I yelled back, reluctant to go back inside.

I was sitting in the crook of an old maple tree writing in my journal. The last thing I really wanted to do was go back inside the dark, depressing house.

"April! We need you in here now!" Raph yelled back, sounding strained and nervous.

I leapt out of the tree and dashed towards the house. I didn't see anyone when I went inside, and I grew nervous. Fearing the worst had happened, I practically flew up the stairs to the bathroom where we kept Leo. To my shock, no one was in there but Leo, who was still lying limp and unconscious in the bath tub. I ran back down the stairs two at a time; my mind was racing.

"Raph? This isn't funny, where are you?" I called out, searching each room as I passed it.

No one in the living room, dining room, closet, or anywhere. Finally I arrived at the kitchen, my gut telling me that no one would be in there either when suddenly a splitting pain shot through my skull. My senses were going crazy, someone or _something _was in the kitchen.

I jumped through the door, my fan at the ready to attack the intruders when suddenly the kitchen lights turned on. I stood stupidly in the door way staring uncomprehendingly at the scene before me. There was a cake, a real cake, on the counter. Donnie, Mikey, Raph, and Casey stood behind it grinning wildly, and Mikey was holding up a sad, yellow smiley-face balloon.

"Happy Birthday!" they all exclaimed together.

I blanked. It was my birthday? They'd done this for me? With everything going on, I had completely forgotten that it was today. I smiled.

"Thanks guys!" I said, as they ran towards me for a hug.

"We thought you'd like it, Red," Casey said with a smirk.

"I made the cake! Donnie went into town to scavenge ingredients with Raph and-"Mikey gushed.

Donnie slapped a hand over Mikey's mouth while Raph rolled his eyes, effectively forcing Mikey to stop talking. I cringed; the cake suddenly didn't look so appealing. They shouldn't have risked so much for me. They could have been killed! Or worse, mutated.

"Don, you shouldn't have done that. You guys could've gotten hurt," I said sadly.

"But we didn't. Look, it's your seventeenth birthday today- that's a big deal considering none of us should have lived to see it. Don't freak out, don't be upset, just enjoy the cake," Raph said lowly.

"But you guys could've been hurt! What would have happened to us if you guys died trying to get cake ingredients?" I protested.

"April, really, it was no biggie. Now please calm down," Donnie insisted.

They were looking at me hopefully, and I couldn't stay mad at them, not when we were all still worried. I'd talk to them later, for now, it was time to eat.

"You're right. Let's eat!" I said, forcing a grin.

We sat and ate and talked, and it was almost normal. Almost. We all still felt the gaping holes left by Splinter and Leo. I dug into my slice of cake, and I could almost imagine I was back in the Lair in the kitchen. I pretended not to notice how dry the cake was, how obvious it was that many ingredients had been substituted for something else. It was the thought that counted after all, and cake was cake.

After a while, Raph quietly excused himself and we all pretended that we didn't hear his heavy footsteps going up the stairs to Leo. We kept talking, and Mikey and Donnie got into a fight over who could stay in a handstand the longest. Mikey won- Casey knocked Don over with a well-placed hockey stick. Laughing heartily, I forgot the world until the sun went down, and then we all moved to the living room to watch Mikey's favorite show.

It was an old one, but it was the only channel that still came through. It was re-runs of old cartoons, sometimes with news interruptions, all day every day. Mikey couldn't get enough. Everything felt about as normal as the days ever were now. We had fallen into a routine:

Wake up early, Train, Eat, and Free time, Eat, Chores, Training, Eat, Cartoons, Bed, and Repeat.

We have lived like this for the past three months, and though I was grateful we hadn't been put into any immediate danger, I was dying for some action. I needed an adventure. I didn't think I could watch another cartoon or journal any more than I already have. Today was different, the cake was exciting, but other than that it was still the same old boring routine. I knew Casey was going stir- crazy too; a guy can only work on a truck for so long.

Donnie and Mikey were doing fine. Donnie had inexhaustible improvements to make to the house and plans to save New York to create. Mikey had animals to take care of and a supply of old comic books Raph found in the barn to occupy him. Raph… well, Raph was managing. With Leo out of commission, he was supposed to be leading us, but instead that task fell onto me. Raph stormed off one day and didn't return until midnight. Mikey was beside himself with worry, and when Raph came back he and I had a fight that rivaled he and Leo's in intensity.

After that, Raph didn't say much. He'd watch Leo, train, go punch some stuff, come back and watch Leo. He ate little, and when he did he almost always ate alone. I didn't like what had happened to our once happy family. We were falling apart at the seams.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello my lovely readers! Thanks to all of y'all that reviewed, it means a ton to me. Shout out to Em, Crystal Violeta, and WakaiSenshi for the support. Thanks for reading, and enjoy the chapter!**

I sat in the bathroom just watching. Well, watching and waiting. I didn't know how long I had been there, but it had definitely been a while. Leo hadn't moved in over a week. I was furious, furious with him for letting this happen, furious with my brothers for letting him go on his own, furious with the Shredder for hurting him, but most of all I was furious with myself.

I hadn't been there to help him, I'd been with Casey. When my brother needed me most, I wasn't there. It hurt to know that I had failed him; I failed them all. They thought I was brooding or acting out because I was upset, but really, I can't stand to look at them. I can't look them in the eyes and know that the pain is there because I failed. I'm supposed to protect this family, and I couldn't do my only job. I was a failure.

I watched Leo because it was a way to forget what I had done, and it lessened my guilt. I could protect him now. However, the job of 'leader', though hopefully temporary, had fallen onto April's shoulders, which was again, my fault. I couldn't do anything right anymore, which is why I jumped at the chance to say 'thank you' to April for everything she had done for us by scavenging for cake ingredients. It seemed to be the least I could do, and I didn't think it would be that hard. I was incredibly wrong.

Donnie and I were nearly killed trying to get a stupid sack of flour, not that we'd ever tell her that. We had to break into a convenience store on the outskirts of New York, and while we there we also picked up a few much- wanted odds and ends, but our main goal was the flour. Donnie had just found it when the building started to shake, and the cheap food stuffs lining the shelves started to topple off. A horrible shriek filled the air, and Donnie and I had just enough time to take cover behind a shelf before a wave of mutagen was shot through the front window, flooding the store.

I was precariously balanced on a display table using a shelf as a shield when I realized I couldn't see Donnie. I was terrified. I couldn't lose another brother, especially not the one who saved our lives on a consistent basis.

"Donnie!" I yelled, "Where are you?"

There was no reply, and a lump formed in my throat. _I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry._ I thought to myself, the repetition calming me.

"Donnie! C'mon, bro, this isn't funny. Where the shell are you?" I tried again, but again there was no answer.

I was beginning to panic when I heard sounds of shelves falling and cans rattling and rolling around the ground. My rational side told me that it was Donnie trying to get up, trying to come find me, but the panicked side was telling me that it was the mutation of my brother that was coming to get me. Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I called out one more time, but it came out more as a whisper.

"Donatello? Is that you, bro?"

There was silence, and my heart dropped, until I heard four magical words.

"Raph, I'm right here."

I spun around to find my brother standing behind me, covered from head to toe in frosting.

"I was in the baking aisle," he explained with a shrug.

"You're okay?" I asked, ecstatic that he was there with me and alive, but I wasn't going to let that show.

"Ya. Are you? I heard you crashing around over there and-" he started, but I cut him off.

"I thought that was you," I said worriedly.

"Oh shell," Donnie muttered, casting a glance towards the now suspiciously quiet aisle.

We turned and faced the aisle, both of us now standing on top of the table to avoid the mutagen on the floor. Suddenly, a Kraang droid burst forth from the aisle in all its squishy pink and chrome glory.

"The ones who are known as the turtles are supposed to be in the state that is dead. Prepare to become the state that is dead," it intoned in its harsh, computerized voice.

"Ya, I don't think so," I growled, glancing at Donnie with a grin.

We charged forward, practically dancing over the floor as we avoided mutagen, broken glass, lasers from the Kraang's gun, and attacked. It was exhausting. I flipped over the droid, plunging my Sai deep into its metal head, shorting it out.

"Nice job, Raph- Oops!" cried Donnie as he slammed the escaping alien with his bo stick, but unfortunately instead of going flying, it wrapped its nasty little tentacles around the staff and held on for dear life.

"I gotcha!" I yelled, running towards him, balancing on the fallen shelves around me.

I managed to get to Donnie right before thing attempted to bite him. In true Donnie fashion, he was frantically waving his staff around trying to shake it off. Dodging a flying Bo staff, I grabbed the disgusting creature and heaved it off of the staff. Donnie promptly whapped it over the head, and it twitched spastically before going still.

"Ugh, I hate those things," I said gruffly, working my way towards the door.

I swiped the bag of flour off the shelf as I passed, and Donnie grabbed the sack of random stuff he had collected. We picked our way carefully across the floor and out of the busted door. I glared at the store before starting towards the car we had used to drive to the city from the house.

"How'd it find us?" Donnie thought out loud as he followed me.

"Oh, I don't know," I said sarcastically as I gestured towards the car we had used to drive into the city.

It was a glorious, bright yellow Volkswagen Van with peace signs and rainbows painted across the sides. It was _real _inconspicuous; every stealthy ninja needs one.

"Right. That makes sense," he muttered as he climbed into the van, "We really need to paint this thing."

"I'll get right on that," I growled, rolling my eyes.

"I'm not saying you have to do it, but somebody has to," he insisted.

"Whatever," I muttered, turning on the car and heading out towards the highway.

With a hideous grinding sound, and a great deal of shaking, the van shuddered out towards the highway. We sat in silence as we drove. If things had been different, if I wasn't so worried I might have talked to him, reassured him that everything would be okay, asked how his projects were going, but that was more Leo's job. I wasn't going to do his job because he needed to come back and do it, so we drove in silence.

Donnie stared stonily out the window as I stared at the road ahead. It was eerie, not a single other car was on the road. There were abandoned cars along the side, and mutated trees and grass and other things, things that I was worried might once have been humans. When we pulled up to the house, Donnie practically flew out of the van into the kitchen to give the ingredients to Mikey, leaving me to hide the van all by myself. I pulled into the trees by the barn and covered the van as best I could with branches and the green tarp we had found.

Grumbling about the fact that Donnie hadn't helped me, I marched stormily into the house, barely acknowledging April. She waved to me as I walked beneath where she was perched in the tree, but I just kept walking. I didn't need another chewing out from our 'leader'.

I pretended to ignore the scene in the kitchen as I walked by, but I did have to stop and look on for a moment. Casey and Donnie were in the thralls of arguing over whose cake idea April would like better, while Mikey obliviously stirred and cooked away, mindlessly letting batter and flour splatter _everywhere_. A particularly large glob landed in Casey's hair, much to his annoyance, and it only added fuel to the flames. A radio, Donnie had to have tampered with it, was sitting on the counter blasting rock- clearly Casey had gotten to choose the music. It was happy, and goofy, and I wanted to join but they wouldn't want me. Three months ago, I would have been in there teasing Mikey, joking with Casey, and making sure, covertly, that Donnie and Casey didn't get too out of hand. I wasn't like that anymore.

I missed how it used to be, but it was how it was. I couldn't change it. The afternoon flew by as I imagined what it would be like when Leo did finally wake up, and then suddenly Mikey was there urging me to the kitchen because we were going to surprise April. I yelled at her as if there was an emergency and she came running. I felt a little guilty when she immediately ran upstairs, but oh well. The look on her face was priceless when she opened the door to the kitchen and saw us standing there.

I don't know what they did for the rest of the night, but I went upstairs and talked to Leo. Donnie said at one point that talking to coma patients can wake them up, and I started doing it. It was in the hopes of waking him up that I talked to him in the first place, but it had turned into a kind of therapy. I told him how everything was going, told him about Donnie and I's quest for flour- no doubt he would have gone with us- I told him about how scared I was when I thought I had lost Donnie, and I told him about Mikey, Casey, and Donnie in the kitchen baking cake. I told him all about April's surprise and how brave she'd been these past few months.

He listened silently, just as he always did, but I liked to think that he could hear me. It was a stretch, I knew that, but if he was listening then it was almost like he was really there. I knew that he wasn't really with us anymore, no one was going to say anything like that of course, but we all knew. I liked to think that wherever Leo was, he was with Sensei and they were happy. I wanted them to be happy, but I also wanted them to know what we were doing so I talked to Leo; and, maybe he passed the news onto Sensei.

That was what he always did before the invasion. We'd do something and laugh and joke, but you could tell he was always worried someone would get hurt. When we got home, he would pretend everything was fine, but sometimes when I was up late I heard him talking to Sensei. He was always so worried that he'd failed us, or would fail us, or that someone would end up hurt one of these days. The incident with the technodrome just made him crazier. He was proud of that, _proud_, that he had nearly died saving us. It was twisted logic, but here it was again. The proof was lying limply in front of me, stitches and even some bruises still bold against his abnormally pale green skin.

I didn't cry. As a general rule, I didn't cry. I didn't do the whole touchy-feely mess, but I did that night. It was roughly three months after the invasion, he still wasn't awake, and we were beginning to heal and adjust to our new reality, a reality without two vital members of our family. It was a new reality without Leo and Sensei, and as the thought struck me I broke down in tears. I just wanted my life back. It wasn't much to ask, and so as I sat there in the old, worn wooden chair in the cold room, my brother lying lifeless in front of me, I prayed. I prayed to whoever was listening to please let my brother live, because I couldn't do this without him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello my lovely readers! I hope y'all are having a fantastic day. I'm super excited for this new story and the number of people looking at it! We're nowhere near **_**Missing Leo**_** (my other story featuring the turtles, check it out!) level, but it's a start. As always, please remember to review, and enjoy the chapter!**

I hated Doritos.

That much I could say with certainty as I dodged yet another flying orange chip of doom. The day had started out normally enough for us. It had been a few weeks since my birthday, and everything had fallen back into its normal, boring routine. However, this morning, we decided to explore the forest. Donnie thought it would be a good idea to "understand our surroundings better". If Donnie didn't die from the stupid chips being launched at us at G-Force speeds, then I would kill him because that was maybe the worst idea he'd ever had in his life.

"Duck!" Raph yelled from behind me, his voice gravelly from disuse.

I bobbed my head down just in time to avoid having powdered nacho cheese embedded in my brain.

"Thanks, Raph," I huffed as I sprinted down a hill and wove through trees.

He grunted in response. We were all running for our lives, all of us except Mikey who had volunteered to stay at home and watch Leo. I was 99% sure he was actually watching his cartoon. He would be so jealous he missed this once we told him, granted we would have to live to tell him. As we approached the bottom of the hill, a small dip in the ground appeared, and it was surrounded by a logs and shrubs- the perfect hide out!

"There!" I yelled, pointing towards it.

We all veered to the right and headed for it, Casey leaping over the bushes and landing with a loud 'thud' on the packed dirt. I joined him shortly, then Raph, and finally Donnie, who was panting like he'd just run a marathon.

"Okay, first things first-"I started.

"I'm the realest!" finished Casey with a self-satisfied grin.

"Shut up, Jones. Are you guys okay?" I asked.

A chorus of 'yeps' and one groan of annoyance answered the questions.

"Raph?" I asked, prompting the owner of the groan to elaborate.

"I have a chip stuck in my shell…," he said, wincing.

He turned, and I stared in morbid fascination at the large, orange, triangle sticking out of the groove in his shell. Powdered cheese radiated outward from the point of impact, and the chip was embedded about halfway into his shell.

"How bad does it hurt?" Donnie asked, going into doctor mode.

"It doesn't really hurt that much. I'm okay," he said with a forced grimace, "Now let's find a way to waste this thing!"

"How can we kill it if we don't even know what it is?" Donnie pointed out.

"Just hit until something happens," Casey responded, as if that was the answer to all problems.

"Brilliant. You know, I really don't know why I don't come to you for help more often," snapped Donnie.

"Probably because you're-"Casey started to retaliate while Raph looked on in boredom.

"Guys. Please. Focus. What do we know?" I asked.

"That we're being chased by a forty foot tall creature that looks a heck of a lot like the Pillsbury dough boy but shoots Doritos from its hands?" Raph replied monotonously.

We all stared at him.

"Well, when you put it that way it sounds ridiculous," Donnie said, stifling a laugh.

"You're forgetting the tentacles," Casey pointed out.

"Okay. So we're being chased by a giant Pillsbury dough boy with tentacles coming out of its mouth and nacho cheese Doritos coming out of its hands?" I recapped.

"Yep, pretty much," Casey said, nodding his approval.

"Where did it come from?" I asked.

"My best guess? Some guy in New York was eating Doritos and passed a blow up Pillsbury dough boy when he got mutated," Donnie guessed, shaking his head and still trying not to laugh.

Honestly, at this point we were all trying not to laugh. We had been through some crazy stuff, but on the weird scale this took first place.

"No, I meant how did it get here? Though you're probably right about that last part," I snickered.

"Walked. Too big for New York, so it decided to go take a look at the world," Raph pointed out, a shadow of a grin passing his face.

It took everything in me not to hug him, because for a second the old Raph had shone through. We'd almost had it back, and if it took getting hit in the shell with a chip to do that, then so be it.

A roar ripped through the trees around us, and loud thuds echoed through the forest and shook the ground.

"Aaaaaaaaaand he's back," Casey groaned.

"Okay, what's our plan of attack, April?" Donnie said, going back into ninja mode.

"Donnie, you find a way to distract him. Raph, Casey, you two do what you do best and smash some things. I'm going to find a way to knock it over," I instructed quickly, "Ready? _Go!_"

We tore out of the bushes like we were crazy and charged the beast, obviously confusing it for a second. I could practically here it thinking, "They're supposed to be going the other way."

It readjusted quickly, but by then it was too late. Donnie was running between its feet whacking it with the staff as hard as he could and trying not to be squashed. Raph and Casey were scaling the creature's tree trunk legs and also whacking it as hard as they could, Raph taking breaks to through ninja stars at its face and arms. I was busy trying to bend back a tree, a young one, but it still counted, so that when it got close enough I could let go and _Bam! _Down with Big Bertha.

Thud. It took another step forward. Thud. Another. Donnie was still weaving between its feet and generally annoying it. Raph and Casey were still climbing up the creature, and they seemed to be making decent progress in weakening it. Thud. One more step. Thud. Just one more step then it would be within striking distance. Suddenly it took a step backwards.

"No no no no no no come back!" I muttered as it took another step backwards, "Why?"

It made a pitiful, meek whine before swatting at Casey and Raph. Casey kept his hold on the monster, but Raph went flying. He hit a tree with a sickening _crunch_ and slid to the ground.

"Raph!" Donnie yelled in terror.

He was distracted for just long enough that the creature almost stepped on him, and I screamed. Casey roared in anger and started to scale the beast faster than I could have ever imagined. Donnie started whapping its ankles with a vengeance and weaving between its feet even faster. Suddenly Casey was balancing precariously on its shoulder. Bravely wielding his hockey stick he yelled, "Hey ugly! Ya, I'm lookin' at you. You sit down right now. Sit. Now."

It almost would have been funny if the thing wasn't still shooting Doritos at Donnie's head and preparing to flick Casey off its shoulder. However, it moaned and looked at him balefully. The onslaught of chips ceased, and with a mighty roar it sat down heavily, barely missing Raph.

"Atta… thing!" Casey cheered, at a loss for what to call it.

He scrambled down its arm, took one look back instructing it to stay, and ran towards Raph. Donnie was disentangling himself from a pile of feet and Doritos, but he too started running to Raph as soon as he was free.

"Raph! Dude, are you okay?" Casey was repeating, as he vigorously shook his best friend.

Raph made no noise, he just laid limply in Casey's arms.

"Raph?" Donnie asked cautiously as he approached.

"Casey?" I asked shakily.

Casey shook his head, his eyes glimmering with unshed tears behind his hockey mask. I gasped, and my hands flew to my face cover my mouth. The weight of the world crashed down on my shoulders as I realized this was my fault. It was my fault Raph was gone. It had been my plan. Tears streamed silently down my face, and I wished, not for the first time, that Leo was here. This wouldn't have happened if he was still in charge.

"Let me see him," Donnie instructed.

His hands gently wrapped around Raph's wrist, and leaned towards his head. Triumphantly, Donnie sat up, a grin spread across his face as if he was a kid at Christmas who had just gotten the best gift ever.

"He's alive!"

I cheered, and Casey mumbled something about knowing that Raph was too stubborn to leave us. Suddenly I remembered that the Dorito shooting dough boy was still there. I turned slowly and looked at it. When it wasn't chasing me through the woods trying to kill me, it was actually kind of pitiful. However, any feelings of sympathy I had were eradicated when I heard Raph groan behind me. I marched up to the thing and planted my feet firmly in front of it.

"Why are you here?" I yelled at it.

"Auuuugh," it moaned.

"Go home. Go back to where you came from _now!_" I instructed.

"Go… hoooome?" it repeated sadly.

"You can talk!" I exclaimed.

It shook its head, and with a devastated expression lifted a hand to its mouth and shot chips inside.

"So you didn't come here for food," I mused, "then why are you here?"

It let out another groan followed by two moans and a roar, gesturing vigorously towards the city.

"Anybody follow that?" I asked, turning to Casey and Donnie, who were half- watching, half- fussing over Raph.

I got two shrugs in response.

"Thanks for the help. Go back to New York!" I exclaimed, moving my attention back to the creature.

It moaned forlornly one last time before picking itself up and walking back towards the city.

"Y'all don't come back now, ya here?" Casey joked halfheartedly, doing a horrible Paula Deen impression.

"C'mon, we have to get him home," I urged, jogging back over to the guys.

Casey shrugged one of Raph's arms over his shoulders as Donnie took the other. They began to drag him along as we started through the forest heading towards home. We had been walking for a long time and the sun was beginning to sink below the tree line when we realized we were lost.

"Uh, Red, I think we already passed that tree," Casey said gently.

"I know," I huffed in frustration.

"This is why I said we needed to learn about our surroundings in the first place," Donnie pointed out.

"Shut up, Donnie," Casey and I snapped together.

"Okay, okay. No need to get touchy," he grumbled.

Raph let out a low groan, and Donnie looked at him in concern.

"We really do need to get him back to the house soon. I need to clean his wounds, and if chip monster left New York and ended up here, who knows what else did. There could be anything out here in the woods right now, and I for one don't want to be out here at night," Donnie stated.

A feeling of unease settled over all of us, and we stood a little closer together. We continued walking, more quickly than we had been, and I glanced around nervously.

"You scared, Red?" Casey teased, but I could hear the worry in his voice.

"No. Are you?"

"Definitely not."

We continued walking in silence. Suddenly, as the sun sank ever lower on the horizon, I heard a rustling in the shadows. We froze, and slowly turned towards the noise. I took out my fan and dropped into a fighting stance, and Casey quickly drew his hockey stick, leaving Donnie to handle the considerable bulk of Raph. The rustle grew louder, whatever was out there was coming towards us.

"April, you picking anything up on Kraang radio?" Casey asked, as delicate as ever.

"No. How many times have I told you not to call it that?"

"Oops. Sorry, Ape,"

The rustling grew closer and closer, and we grew tenser and tenser until suddenly the thing was upon us and it jumped out of the bushes at us. It ran towards us excitedly, arms outstretched. I threw my fan towards it just as it yelled-

"April!"

At the last second I flicked my wrist upwards, and the fan barely missed Mikey's head. His orange mask almost glowed in the fractured, late afternoon sunlight.

"Oh my gosh, Mikey, you have to give us a little warning next time!" I exclaimed, as Casey, Donnie and I laughed nervously.

"I'm so glad you guys are okay. I've been so worried; you were gone for so long! What happened to Raph? Is he dead? Can I have his room? Is he okay? What took you guys so long to get here? Why are you guys all covered in… nacho cheese?" he gushed, as he jumped around us at light speed.

"Mikey, it's a long story, but how close are we to the house? Raph is really hurt," I asked, grabbing his shoulders and bringing him to a halt.

"Not that far. C'mon, I figured something had happened. The couch is all med-bay prepared!" he replied, growing serious for a second, but then forcing a smile onto his face.

I sighed inwardly as I followed him. He pretended to be so dumb, but he really was smarter than he looked, and he had the biggest heart. We was worried about Raph, that much I could tell, but he was trying to play everything off as funny so that we wouldn't be as worried. Raph and I would be having a long talk about this later.

We followed Mikey through the woods until we finally stumbled upon the house, just as the sun finally set. I heard wolves howl in the distance, and I shuddered. At least we wouldn't be spending the night out there.

Marching up the steps to the house, Mikey propped open the door and helped us lift Raph onto the couch in the living room. True to his word, Mikey had thrown a blanket over the couch, a first aid kit was on the table with a bucket of water and a towel, and extra blankets were folded in a chair.

"Oh, and I made dinner. Do you want me to bring out? I'm bringing it out," he declared as he darted off into the kitchen.

Casey grinned.

"That kid sure is something," he said, shaking his head before turning his attention back to Raph, "How's he lookin' Don?"

"Rough. It looks like he broke his arm, but I can fix that. He might have a concussion too, but that should heal with time. He might be unconscious for a while though. My immediate concern right now is the chip," Donnie sighed, gesturing to the orange triangle protruding from Raph's shell.

"The shell should have prevented most, if not all damage, but it's still a painful injury. It's good that he's unconscious for this. April, can you hand me the tweezers out of there?" he asked as he examined the thing.

I rummaged through the box, handed the tweezers over, and fled the room. I could stomach a lot, but I wasn't watching Donnie pull a chip out of a shell. It had been too long of a day for that. Actually, any day where that became an issue was a long day. I walked into the kitchen to help Mikey with dinner, but he already had it covered. There were five bowls of soup out on the table, and Mikey was sitting quietly in the chair closest to the stove, his head in his hands.

"Mikey?" I asked softly, putting a hand on his shoulder and sitting down next to him.

"Oh, hey, April. I figured you guys needed a few minutes before I brought out dinner," he lied, lifting his head.

"Mikey, what's wrong?" I urged gently.

"Nothing," he sniffed.

"Mikey…"

"I was so scared. You guys were supposed to be home _hours _ago, but you didn't come home, and I kept waiting and you weren't there. I wanted to go look for you, but then I was worried about leaving Leo by himself. I decided to go look for you guys, but first I wanted to check up on him one last time, and when I went, he was shaking. I mean, he was just shaking uncontrollably and I couldn't get it to stop, and Donnie wasn't there to help! So by the time it did stop, it was late, but you guys still weren't back, and I was convinced something had happened. I got the living room all ready for Don, but then you guys still didn't come home, and I was so scared," he cried, and then he whispered, "I just kept thinking that I was all alone. I just kept thinking about what would happen if I was all alone. And I was terrified."

He turned to me, his eyes searching for some kind of response, and instead I reached out and wrapped him in a hug.

"You'll never be alone, Mikey. I promise," I whispered.

We sat like that until he finally calmed down and pulled away. He thanked me silently, in that way only he can, before cracking a grin.

"So what's this I hear about a _chip _stuck in Raph's back?" he asked.

"Exactly what it sounds like," I laughed.

"So what? A tracking chip, Kraang chip? Crazy person wanting to know what we are chip?" he asked in confusion.

I laughed harder.

"What's so funny?" he asked, his brow furrowed.

"Mikey, it's an actual chip. A Dorito," I snickered.

He stared at me blankly for a few seconds, then he too started to laugh.

"What the actual heck did you guys find out there?" he laughed.

"Honestly, I don't even know. C'mon, we'll tell you over dinner," I said, gathering up a few bowls of soup and heading out to the living room, Mikey in tow.

"So then it starts shooting Doritos at us _again_! And Casey just climbs onto its shoulder and tells it to sit! And it did! It just sat down and waited for us to check on Raph, and then April chewed it out and it just went home. It was so weird!" Donnie exclaimed, waving his hands around excitedly.

"Aw, why'd I miss the fun adventure? I was just here making soup," Mikey whined through peals of laughter.

Everyone's soup bowls sat empty and forgotten in front of them on the coffee table, and the TV had long ago turned off. The light from the full moon cast shadows through the window, but the light of the lamps and the overhead fan created a care free, cozy atmosphere. We were finally home.

"Ya, Mikey, it's funny now that we know we didn't die," Casey chuckled, but he cast a side long glance at the unconscious Raph on the couch.

"How were things while we were gone? I hope Leo didn't give you any trouble," Donnie joked.

Everyone laughed but Mikey and I. I glared at Donnie from across the room, and Mikey exchanged a worried glance with me. Clearly, he didn't want to ruin the happy mood with news of Leo's fit.

"Nah, everything went pretty well today. It was pretty boring actually," he quipped, barely revealing the storm of emotions I could see roiling within him.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to take you with us next time," Casey said with a yawn.

"Man, I'm beat. I think I'll hit the sack," Donnie declared.

"Me too," said Casey, "You two got the dishes?"

"Of course, we live to serve," I said sarcastically, gathering the bowls and cups off the table.

The two boys tromped noisily up the stairs as Mikey and I headed to the kitchen. We started the chore in silence, Mikey washing, me drying and putting away. Finally Mikey broke the silence.

"Everyone was just so happy, April. I couldn't tell them," he muttered quietly.

"I get it. I would have done the same thing, but you have to tell them tomorrow," I pointed out, stretching to place a cup on the top shelf.

"I know. I just wanted everything to be okay for a while, ya know? Everything felt right tonight. We haven't had a good adventure in a while, and it kind of made things feel like they used to," he replied, scrubbing out a bowl.

We were silent for a bit, then as he handed me the last bowl to put away, he paused.

"Hey, April?" he asked timidly.

"Ya?"

"Thank you. You've made this so much better than it ever should have been."

He handed me the bowl, and left with a mumbled 'good night'. As I put the bowl away, I looked around the kitchen and thought about the last few months. I hadn't realized how lucky we really had been. Sure, things were tough, but they could always be tougher. I shut off the light, and went to bed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello my lovely readers! Thank you so much to all of you who reviewed, followed, or favorited last chapter! I'm so excited! As always, please remember to review if you enjoy. Have a great day!**

"Raph!" April screamed, then my world exploded in pain and there was nothing.

I woke up to total darkness; I could barely see my hand in front of my face. Patting the ground around me, I realized I was on some sort of bed. It was soft, but it had a weird ledge rising out of the back… a couch. My eyes were beginning to adjust to the weak light, and the house slowly took form. I relaxed once I realized where I was, and I started to go back to sleep when I heard a whisper.

"_Raph! Raph, can you hear me? Can anybody hear me?_" then in more of a grumble, "_No, of course they can't. They haven't been able to hear you for the past three months. That wouldn't change now…"_

It was Leo. I knew it with certainty, and I shot up to search the house for my brother. However, when I stood, I felt a strange, almost sucking, feeling. I turned to see if maybe I had sat on something sticky, but I stumbled back with a gasp. I was lying on the couch, or at least, my body was. Had I died?

Apprehensively, I approached the thing lying on the couch. I refused to acknowledge that it was me. I bent over it and jabbed it quickly with my finger. No reaction. Maybe if I shoved it a little… again no reaction.

"Nothing's going to happen," chuckled a voice from behind me.

Letting out a yell loud enough to wake the dead, I spun around to face my assailant. I froze, stared, and blinked in disbelief at the sight in front of me. Leo was standing there in front of me, his familiar blue bandana wrapped around his head, and not a scar on his body. He couldn't have looked more different than the Leo I had seen just that morning lying mask less, limp, and riddled with scars and bruises that still wouldn't fade. He looked like he had before everything started; he looked alive.

"Leo?" I managed to squeak out, everything in me wanting this to be real but knowing it wasn't.

"Hey, Raph," he said with a smile.

I threw myself at him and allowed myself to be hugged. To heck with being strong and unfeeling. This was a dream and I had my brother. I was going to act how I wanted to, and I was going to do what I had wanted to since this nightmare started. He hugged me tightly, softly whispering assurances.

"I missed you so much," I choked, pulling away.

"I missed you too! I can't believe you can see me!" he exclaimed, an enormous grin lighting up his face.

"See you?" I asked, confused.

"Ya! I've been wandering around for weeks trying to talk to you guys, but none of you could hear me. Or see me," he said dejectedly.

"What?" I asked again, my confusion only growing.

"I've been here. I've seen everything and _heard _everything you guys have done. I've looked out for you. How do you think that dang monster today understood what you were saying? Someone had to translate. Being a spirit has its perks," he explained.

"The monster left?"

"Oh right. You were out. I forgot, that's something that's been happening recently… I forget," he trailed off, his expression pained, but then he brightened and shook his head, "But that doesn't matter. I came back and managed to get Mikey to stop worrying about me and go out and find you guys! You made it home okay. I mean, Raph that monster hit you _really _hard, you'll be asleep for a while, but you're okay. Which is all that matters."

"Are you alright?" I urged.

Something was definitely wrong with him, this dream Leo. He kept rambling, fidgeting nervously, and now that I was looking at him closely he looked exhausted.

"No. Raph, I'm fading. I need you guys to save me," he said slowly, clearly embarrassed to be asking for help.

"I don't understand," I found myself saying, sounding even more clueless than I felt.

"Raph, you can't stay here much longer, so try to understand. You can see me because, at least for a little bit, you've joined the spirit realm. I've been here a while, but you guys couldn't see or hear me because you were all still in the real world. Do you understand so far?" he said, pausing and waiting patiently for my addled brain to catch up.

"I think so," I said finally.

"Fantastic! Look, I'm not going to last much longer. My body is starting to grow weaker rather than stronger because it doesn't have a spirit. For whatever reason, I can't get back inside my own body and if I don't soon I'll die. That's it. I won't ever wake up," he stated it like a fact, like it had no effect on him whatsoever.

"But you have to wake up! Why are you telling me you can't? Just get back in your body, and then we can all link hands and sing 'Kum ba yah' or whatever you want to do," I growled, pacing around the room nervously.

I sat down on the couch to try and collect myself but ended up sitting on my own body while Leo looked on in equal parts amusement and apprehension. It was more than a little disconcerting, and I stood up immediately. I studied everything around me, surprised by how real it all felt. I could feel the fabric fibers in the couch, and the light peeking through the window was illuminating everything perfectly. Suddenly, it occurred to me that maybe this wasn't a dream. Looking out the window, I noticed that the sun was just starting to rise, and I could hear someone coming down the stairs.

"Leo, is this real?" I asked quickly, watching the stairs.

"Ya. Ya it is. I was waiting for you to figure that out," he chuckled again, the somber attitude dissolving.

Just then, April came flying around the corner, launching herself stealthily off the third step and onto the floor, landing with a dull _thud_. She skidded across the wood floors, skating through us in her socks. She stopped, shivered, and then checked on my body. She hung her head dejectedly after her examination, and she looked more than a little worried.

"C'mon, Raph, wake up. I can't deal with two of you being gone," she murmured sadly.

I reached out to put a comforting hand on her shoulder, but she didn't notice. I recoiled as if her shoulder had shocked me. Staring at Leo with wide eyes, I tried to touch her again. Again, nothing happened. It was as if I was touching air, just as it had been when I tried to move my body.

"I understand," he said simply, his eyes betraying a great sadness- a sadness that can only come from watching loved ones suffer and being unable to do anything.

All those times I'd sat and talked to him, the few times I had broken down, and the countless days where Donnie had just gone in there and stared at him, as if willing him to move, Leo had been there. He had been listening, wanting to help and he couldn't. If what he had said about helping us face the mutant earlier was true as well, than he had been watching over us even while he was still too sick to be with us. It was such a Leo thing to do.

"Leo, I," I started, but he shook his head.

"No, Raph, it's time for you to go back," he said forlornly, gesturing towards my body.

"But I just got you back! I have so much to tell you! I didn't get to say any of it!" I protested.

"Then save it for when you wake me up," he said with his characteristic grin, putting me at ease.

I turned away to return to my body, but I glanced back one last time to see him. I couldn't shake the feeling that I might not see him again. However, when I looked back, he was gone, as if he had never been there. Hardening my gaze, I turned away and began maneuvering past April back to my body. My mind was still reeling with all I had to do, and all I could hope was that I would remember.

I settled back into my body and shut my eyes, hoping that I would soon be returned to the land of the conscious. The world slowly dissolved into darkness, and I sunk back into sleep's embrace.

TMNTTMNTTMNTMNTTMNTTMNTTMNTTMNTTMNTTMNTTMNTTMNTTMNTTMNTTMNTTMNTTMTTN

Blearily, I shook my head, clearing the cobwebs that were clouding my thoughts. Where was I? This was most definitely not the Lair. Was I on a couch?

Suddenly, everything came rushing back to me as I sat up, and collapsed back onto the couch with shock. All the events of the last few months came flooding back, and I was left with a feeling of hopelessness until I remembered my dream from the night before. The details were hazy, but there was something about Leo, the astral plane, and him watching over us. It was almost too good to believe, but as I sat there thinking about my next move my thoughts were interrupted by a loud, smallish turtle in orange.

"Donnie! He's awake! Oh my gosh, bro, thank God you're alright! You had us really worried there for a bit. You didn't even wake up when I burped the alphabet in your face!" Mikey exclaimed.

"Wait, you what?" I growled, having only caught about half of what he said.

He fled the room with a gleeful squeal, and I started to go after him when I was shoved gently back onto the couch.

"Raph, how ya feeling buddy? You've been out for nearly a week. That was quite the bump you had there," Donnie said, feigning an all- business attitude.

He had clearly been worried; the dark circles peeking out from beneath his mask and the coffee on his breath betrayed him. However, the last part of what he said stuck with me. I swatted aside his hands as he attempted to examine my head and looked him dead in the eyes.

"What do you mean it's been a week?" I glowered menacingly.

"You've been out for a week. It was touch and go for a while," he said quietly.

April and Casey had emerged from the depths of the house and were standing behind Donnie now, looking on in relief and amazement. April perched herself on the edge of a horrendous flower printed chair and looked me over to her own satisfaction.

"I'm glad you're back, Raph," she muttered before returning upstairs.

"Did I do something?" I asked in confusion, looking to Casey and Donnie for clarification.

Donnie hung his head, a defeated sigh escaping his mouth. Finally, he looked up at me. His eyes glistened with unshed tears, and he kept inhaling as if he were preparing to speak, but he couldn't find the right words to say. Eventually he found his voice, but I wished he hadn't.

"Raph, Leo isn't going to be with us much longer. It's taken everything in April and I just to keep him alive long enough for you to see him one last time," he choked out.

I looked over his shoulder at Casey begging silently for him to suddenly exclaim "Gotcha! Man, you fell for that one," so I could punch him and tell him how not- funny this was. He looked back at me sympathetically with no trace of a smile. If this was a joke, Casey Jones would be sporting that trademark sneer right now.

"Are you sure?" I said, looking back at my younger brother.

"Ya, Raph. His condition has been deteriorating for a while now. His body just doesn't have enough energy to heal itself anymore," he replied sadly, "I wish I could wake you up with happier news. We nearly lost you as well, though. That first night back you seemed fine but when April came down the next morning you were barely breathing."

Casey shivered at the memory and plopped down next to me on the couch. He punched me lightly on the arm, almost too lightly, as if he were afraid I would break.

"Don't you ever do that to me again! Do you hear me? Ever," he commanded, pulling his infamous 'mom' voice.

"Ya, ya. Whatever, man," I replied jokingly.

"Raph, how do you feel?" Donnie asked again.

"Like I was slammed into a tree by a mutant," I stated.

"You're fine," Donnie said, rolling his eyes, "I'm going back up to check on Leo. Do you want to come?"

"Of course I do," I muttered.

We started up the long stairway to the second floor leaving all jokes and levity behind us. A strong feeling of foreboding lorded over the entire upper level as if even the house was trying to tell us it was only a matter of time. I decided not to listen to the house.

We approached the door and I steeled myself for what might be inside. I was worried, and scared, and I didn't want to go inside. Donnie grabbed the knob and pushed open the door. I was painfully aware of each of his movements, and it felt as if the seconds were stretching on forever. The door flew open and I mindlessly followed him in, walking with trepidation towards my brother.

April was sitting on a stool next to the tub mopping his forehead. He looked worse than he ever had, his chest rose and fell rapidly, he was sweating, and his scars stood in stark contrast against his pale skin. I fought the urge to leave the room, and I glanced at Donnie for reassurance. Donnie always had an answer; he always knew what was wrong. He'd find a way to fix this.

My heart sank when I saw his face. He was confused, and I could see the anger in his eyes. He had no idea what was wrong. He didn't know why this was happening or why Leo hadn't woken up. With a heaving sigh, he shuffled over to April and sat down next to her. He deflated, almost as if the life was sucked out of him.

_Almost as if the life had been sucked out of him. _

A light bulb went off in my head and my thoughts began to race. The more I thought about it, the less likely it seemed that I had some bizarre dream with Leo in it. If I had joined the spirit realm, albeit temporarily, didn't the timing coincide with when my body in the physical world had flipped out? After they got me under control, it would have been after I went back into my body, I slept for a long time. Was it possible that was what was going on with Leo? Donnie would know. Donnie would run some tests or something and figure this out.

My thoughts were interrupted by a loud bang. I spun towards the sound and found myself staring at Mikey. However, he stared past me. His innocent blue eyes were fixed on Leo's prone form in the tub. He swung his head towards Donnie.

"What's wrong with him? Why didn't you tell me?" he whispered.

"We didn't want to worry you, and," he started, but Mikey didn't let him.

"Stop treating me like a baby! I'm not! Everyone else got to know; who are you to decide whether I can or not?" he suddenly erupted.

"It's not like that, Mikey. We knew you'd be upset and you'd already been through a lot so we thought we could keep it a secret until Donnie found a way to make him better," April said calmly, standing up to meet the orange-clad turtle.

"Ya. We know you can handle it, we just thought it might be nice if you had one less thing to worry about," Casey added, in a rare show of seriousness.

He regarded us in silence for a few moments. I could see him processing, trying to make sense of a situation that didn't make sense.

"What's wrong with him?" he asked finally.

"I don't know," Donnie muttered in a voice barely above a whisper.

"What?" April gasped, her eyes widening.

"I said I don't know," he repeated, slightly louder.

"But you always know," Casey insisted.

"I know but this time I don't, okay? I don't know. I don't know what's wrong with him. I don't know why this is happening. I just don't know," he growled angrily.

Mikey took a step back, his lip quivering. I stepped forward and put my arm around him, finally playing the part of 'big brother' as I should have a long time ago. He looked at me in surprise than leaned against me.

"Look, Donnie, I have an idea. It's kind of hard to explain, but it could help," I offered, painfully aware of everyone's eyes on me.

"What is it?" he asked.

"It's kind of weird," I warned.

"Raph, your idea could be juggling mutant pineapples on a unicycle and I'd probably go for it right now," he replied exasperatedly.

"Well… I guess I should start with when the monster hit me…"


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello my lovely readers! Sorry for the late update but last week was super hard at school. I wish teachers would coordinate on matters such as test dates, hours of homework given and such. It would be so nice. As always, please remember to review, I love your feedback! Enjoy the chapter!**

As Raph began to explain more and more about his misadventure in the spirit world, his encounter with Leo, and everything that had happened to him I became worried. Maybe he wasn't all right after all. He had hit his pretty hard, maybe there were some lasting effects. I exchanged a look with Donnie as Raph continued talking. He was having similar thoughts.

However, Mikey was hanging onto his every word, desperate for some way out of Leo's death, and Casey was listening as well, though a little more skeptically. Donnie craned his neck towards me and whispered, "I might need to re-examine his head."

"Ya think?" I replied sarcastically, eyeing Raph warily.

"His desire for Leo to live, or just to wake up, is manifesting itself in dreams and for lack of a better term- hallucinations. This is a subconscious way of him letting out all the stress he's been penning up for months now…," he trailed off as he realized Raph was watching him, his green eyes cold and hard.

"You think I'm crazy," he stated.

He was met with silence as Donnie and I exchanged concerned glances and thought carefully about our next move. Discredit him, and he'd storm off and we wouldn't be able to help him. Credit him, and we'd be giving merit to this delusion and we wouldn't be able to help him either. Donnie started to say something, but Mikey cut him off.

"Guys! Come on. Raph has _no _imagination. Do you really think he'd be able to cook this story up?" Mikey pointed out.

"Hey!" Raph protested indignantly behind him, but Mikey waved him off.

"I mean, really. When has Raph ever made up a story like this? What reason does he have to make up a story like this?" he continued.

"He wants us to try something else to wake Leo up," Donnie argued.

"So? Is that such a bad thing? We all want him to wake up," Mikey said, standing up to tower over Donnie, who rose to meet him.

"I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but I'm saying it can't be done!" he replied lowly.

"Say that again," Raph growled, coming to stand behind Mikey.

"I said, _it can't be done_," Donnie hissed angrily, but the fabric around his eyes began to darken betraying how upset he really was.

"Then what do we have to lose?" Casey pointed out, hopping off his perch on the counter.

"Everything! If we screw up, he could die sooner!" Donnie cried in exasperation.

"And if we do nothing, he'll just die!" Mikey protested, his face only inches from Donnie's.

"Stop it! Stop it all of you!" I yelled, pushing Donnie and Mikey apart.

Donnie and Mikey stepped away from each other, shooting dirty looks. Raph stepped back towards Casey and crossed his arms defensively, and Casey jumped back onto the counter. All eyes were on me as I stood in the center of the room, hands on my hips, Leo unconscious behind me.

"Look at him," I instructed, pointing to the limp, emaciated, and pale green figure in the tub.

He already looked dead. Everyone looked, but Mikey couldn't look for very long. He turned his head away and bit his lip. Donnie continued to watch, his mind scanning through the seemingly endless list of injuries and ailments. He was seeing, but he wasn't processing. Raph just stared, emotionless, seemingly passive. Casey wouldn't look. He didn't want to see his friend like this.

"Do you think he would want this? Do you think he'd want you guys at each other's throats… fighting over _how _he should die?" I asked, my voice ringing through the silent room.

They shook their heads sheepishly, Raph raising his head to protest, but deciding against it in an uncharacteristic display of thought.

"We can fix this. We just need to find out how. Arguing isn't going to help him," I said bitterly.

"But that's just it! I have a way to help him!" Raph finally said.

Everyone turned to look at him.

"No, you have a weird story where Leo came to a dream and told you to wake him up," Donnie said.

"If you would just listen! We can wake him up! He's exhausting himself trying to keep tabs on us all the time!" Raph argued.

"According to the guy who was slammed head first into a tree," Donnie remarked with a self-satisfied grin.

"I nearly died! That's why I saw him! I _left my body_, and for a short time I was in the same state as Leo. And you know what? I was so exhausted by being out of my body for twenty _minutes _that I slept for a week. Leo has been keeping constant tabs on us for hours at a time. How do you think that's affecting him, Mr. Scientist?" Raph exploded, his voice dangerous.

A loud, uncomfortable silence filled the room. Mikey's eyes were huge, disbelieving, and Casey had sucked in a deep breath and forgotten to let it out. Donnie just stared. I didn't know how to react. He hadn't told us that. He had said while he was sleeping he saw Leo and Leo said he needed to wake up. He hadn't told us that he'd been dying. How had we missed that? We had thought he was fine!

"You didn't tell us that, Raphie," Mikey finally whimpered.

"I didn't want to scare you," he replied gently.

Donnie was still processing, and he kept looking from Raph to Leo and back like he was at a really interesting tennis match. Finally he shook his head and looked at Raph.

"You left your body?" he finally asked.

"Really? Out of all of that, that's what you ask?" I asked with a nervous, somewhat forced laugh.

"Yep. The principle is so interesting! If I could leave and talk to him for a bit and convince him to return to his body and not leave again, he could let himself heal!" Donnie explained.

"Oh so now you believe me?" he asked.

"Yes! Now that you've explained yourself it's probable that it could have happened," Donnie replied.

"It's probable that Raph nearly died, left his body, met Leo who had also left his body, talked with him, and came back?" I asked, still disbelieving.

"Well, once you've eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth," Donnie stated.

"Thanks, Spock," Raph said with a laugh.

"So you all believe this?" I asked again.

A chorus of 'yeps' was my answer.

"Look, I'm as desperate to get Leo back as you are but this is ridiculous! Even if it was true, how would you join the spirit world?" I pointed out, desperate to knock some sense into them.

Mikey and Casey's faces fell as I pointed this out, and though I felt guilty, I was also a bit pleased that they were momentarily back on my side. However, Raph and Donnie just shared a knowing look.

"Guys, you can't do it. Even if it was possible," I said slowly.

"Not really. See if Master Splinter were here he could meditate and join. It's less taxing, and it works! We've seen him do it. However, it takes years to master that…," Raph started.

"And we don't have years or Master Splinter," Mikey finished, hanging his head.

We all hung our heads for a moment, the memory of our sensei being murdered by the Shredder playing in our heads. I shivered.

"But what we can do is do what Leo and Raph did," Donnie said finally, trying to chase the dark memory away.

"And what was that?" Casey asked, though I could tell he already knew the answer.

"Well, ahem, we could, ya know… die," Donnie said awkwardly, forcing out the last word in a rush.

"What?! Are you crazy? Never! Never, never, never, never will I let you try and _kill _yourself for some half-baked idea you're not even sure will work!" I cried in exasperation.

_Surely he couldn't be serious. Oh dear Lord, Raph was nodding. Raph is agreeing. What is happening? Why are they doing this? We have lost so many people, this is not okay_. My thoughts were racing as I tried to find an incredibly good reason for why this was a bad idea, besides the obvious. They weren't going to listen if I tried to point out that dying was a bad idea.

"Relax, April. We'll be fine. I'll take a poison of some kind, one that we have the antidote to, and after a few minutes you'll just administer it I'll be fine. Easy-peasy, no mess, all good," Donnie said cheerily.

"No," I replied sternly.

"Fine, I'll do it then," Raph said.

"No, no one is doing this!" I urged.

"Yes, yes we are doing this," Casey replied, "Sorry, Red."

"You can't be serious," I groaned.

"Very serious," Donnie replied.

"But you don't even know if this will work! For all you know you could actually die, and then where would we be?" I argued.

"It's a risk we have to take," Raph said calmly.

"Besides, what do we have to lose?" Donnie asked with an easy grin.

"You," I pointed out.

He waved me off as if that was unimportant. I stared at them, my eyes bugging out of my head. _This isn't happening. This isn't happening. _

"So who's in?" Donnie asked.

_This isn't happening! This isn't happening!_

"I'm in," Raph said.

"I'm in," Casey said.

We all turned and looked at Mikey who had been observing everything silently. He stood, walked over to the guys and said in as serious a voice as Mikey ever has, "I'm in if Casey gets pizza."

_This is happening. This is happening. This is happening! _

They looked at me.

"Red, you gonna help?" Casey asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No," I said with all the finality I could muster.

I marched out of the room, leaving the guys dumbstruck behind me. I fought back tears as I quickly made my way down the stairs and out of the house. As I hit the front porch, I broke into a run. I wasn't sure where I was going until I suddenly found myself at the base of an enormous oak tree. It was far past the barn, and the house was invisible, blocked by trees.

The trunk was old, gnarled, and scarred by time, and it's proud, strong arms reached high into the sky, sheltering me from the light drizzle that had started to fall. A familiar walking stick, smoothed by years of use was planted firmly in the ground in front of the tree, a pile of shuriken and photos sat at its base.

There was an old photo, but it was there nonetheless. It was of Master Splinter, the guys, and me. We were all smiling and laughing, Master Splinter staring at all of us proudly, a toothy grin on his face. Raph had Mikey in a headlock and was staring directly at the camera, grinning, while Mikey was struggling but laughing. Donnie had his arm around me and was blushing furiously while glaring over my head at Casey who also had his arm around me. Leo was smiling and his arms around Raph and Donnie happily. It was a picture from _before_.

This was our grave for Master Splinter. This was the makeshift memorial we had for our beloved Sensei. It was all we had. We had salvaged his walking stick from the Lair with our other things, and had been planning on giving it back to him. Obviously, that had never happened. When we got to the farm house we searched for a tree that looked as similar as possible to the wizened tree growing in the dojo, and once we found it we placed his things there.

We had laminated the pictures so that they wouldn't be destroyed, and we kept them there for Master Splinter. I rearranged the pictures so that they were all visible- Splinter as a human, his wife, and daughter; the guys as kids; Master Splinter laughing. They were snap shots of a life.

I sighed shakily and knelt down in front of the staff. I bowed my head and looked at the picture I clutched desperately in my hands.

"Hi, Master Splinter. It's me again," I started, not for the first time; I came here often, "The guys are in trouble, and I don't know what to do because they're the ones putting themselves in trouble."

I sat in the rain and explained everything that was happening. I didn't move when the rain picked up. I didn't move when the wind blew leaves down around me or when the rain ceased and the sun came peeked out from behind the clouds.

"I need help, Master Splinter. If you can't help me find a way to help them, then keep them safe," I finished.

I put the picture down and slowly stood up and walked back through the woods to the house.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello lovely readers! I hope y'all are having a fantastic day. I don't really have anything to say right now other than the typical song and dance of **_**please **_**review! Or like, favorite or dance as you see fit. Enjoy!**

April stormed out of the house and an uneasy hush fell over all of us. We all stared blankly at one another as we tried to decide what the shell we were supposed to do now.

"Whelp. I guess we should start working," Donnie said finally.

We nodded in agreement, but none of us were really sure what we were supposed to say. How do you say, and not sound like a freaking idiot, _hey guys! Let's go kill ourselves so that we can wake up our maybe dead brother, and then not die! _

Because, ya, that would make sense. So we didn't say anything. Donnie ran out to the barn and grabbed some poison or something and all the supplies he thought he might need. I wasn't really paying attention; I was trying to convince myself that I wasn't crazy and just leading my brothers on a wild goose chase. Or turtle chase. Whatever. Gradually I became aware of a slight sniffling sound. I blinked and looked around, trying to figure out where the noise was coming from. With a start, I realized it was Mikey. He was crying quietly on the couch, obviously trying not to be noticed.

I walked over to him and sat down softly next to him.

"Is this seat taken?" I asked as I sat down.

"Yes," Mikey replied meekly.

"Too bad," I said after I sat.

"Leave me alone," Mikey said roughly.

"Nah. I don't think I will. What's wrong?" I asked.

"Well other than the fact that you might die, nothing," Mikey said sarcastically.

"Aw, c'mon. It's not so bad, and besides, Donnie knows what he's doing. I'll be fine, and before you know it Leo will be here too," I said calmly, trying to play off the fear that was forming knots in my stomach.

"Are you sure?" he asked, looking up at me with those big blue eyes, rimmed red from crying.

"Ya, I am. Now buck up. Donnie's gonna need some help, and I want some pizza ready to eat when this is over," I instructed, getting up and pulling him off the couch after me.

Casey blundered into the room right as Mikey left it for the kitchen, and I threw myself back onto the couch with a groan. Couldn't a turtle catch a break?

"So where'd you run off to?" I asked, but it came out more like a statement, like I was telling him he had run away.

"Hey, what bit you?" he responded defensively, plopping down on the overstuffed couch next to me.

"Case, I'm really not in the mood for a heart to heart chat right now," I growled as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Good, because I'm not either," he said matter-of-factly.

We sat in silence, awkwardly, just staring out the picture window looking across the yard to the barn and the woods. A few birds would fly over every now and again, but otherwise everything was still.

"Nice day," Casey said, breaking the silence.

"Ya, it is," I agreed, even though it really wasn't.

It was cloudy and disgusting, a storm brewing on the horizon. Wind whipped the trees around, and the gray sky drowned everything in monochrome shades of gray. We kept sitting silently, watching out the window and listening to Mikey bang around the kitchen. Eventually, Donnie found his way out of the barn, struggling with the doors as his arms were laden with all manner of weird objects. I probably should have gotten up to help him, but instead I just watched as he struggled across the barn yard.

I memorized how he looked, coming across the yard, the wind tugging at his mask tails, the gap between his teeth as he yelled at a piece of wayward equipment that fell. I glanced covertly at Casey, memorizing how he looked as well. His dark, untamable hair was pushed in all directions behind his hockey mask, and his freckles stood out against his skin.

I shook my head, clearing it. I wasn't going to do that now. I wasn't going to do that ever. I wasn't going to become sentimental or act like I was dying because I wasn't. I'd be fine. Absolutely fine. Nothing to worry about at all.

Suddenly, the door flew open and slammed against the wall with a resounding _bang!_ Casey nearly jumped out of his skin and we both turned to face the offending door with looks of annoyance. Even Mikey peeked his head through the kitchen door curiously.

"Sorry guys! I opened it, then the wind did the rest. By the way, thanks for _all _the help," came a familiar nasally voice as Donnie wrestled his way through the open door.

"I didn't really feel like going outside," I said with a shrug, continuing to watch as Donnie maneuvered himself through the door and made his way to the coffee table where he unceremoniously dumped everything he had been carrying.

"What is all that stuff for?" Casey asked in surprise, voicing my thoughts.

"Oh you know, this and that," Donnie mumbled cryptically as he sorted through the junk.

"That's nice," Mikey said before popping back into the kitchen.

I turned and looked back out the window as Donnie fiddled with some piece of machinery. Suddenly, a bright flash illuminated the sky and a thunderous crack shook the house.

"That's a hell of a storm," Casey remarked with a low whistle.

The lights flickered in agreement.

"Hey, where's April?" Donnie said suddenly, scanning the room.

"Um, I don't actually know," I replied, hoping she wasn't still outside.

"I think I saw her go outside. Towards Splinter's…," Casey said, trailing off.

"Shell. Should we go get her?" I asked.

"Nah, Red will be fine. She's not stupid, I'm sure she's on her way back," Casey said with a careless waved of his hand.

"What a gentleman," Donnie muttered under his breath.

I stifled a snicker. Another clap of thunder shook the house, and I glanced at the guys.

"No, really, should we go get her?" I urged, trying not betray how worried I really was.

"No, now sit down. The storm will pass over soon anyways," Casey said.

"Whatever," I said gruffly, heading towards the kitchen, "Call me in when you're ready."

"Okay," Donnie mumbled.

I crossed the room, carefully picking my way around Donnie and Casey's outstretched feet. I finally made my way across the mine field and had my hand on the door to enter the kitchen when suddenly Donnie called out, "Ready!"

"Why didn't you just tell me to wait ten seconds?" I asked in annoyance, turning back into the room.

"Because I didn't know how long calibrating the monitor was going to take. Also, I wanted to check and make sure I actually had grabbed the right antidote and not something that would just react more violently with the poison," Donnie said.

"That's comforting," I muttered, "okay, where do you want me?"

"Ummmm, Casey get off the couch. You. There," he instructed curtly.

Casey scrambled off the couch, shooting Donnie indignant looks all the while. This time I didn't try to stifle my laugh. I sat down on the couch only for Donnie to grab my feet and swing me around.

"Lie down, and relax," he instructed.

I could see the worry in his eyes, he was terrified, but we had to do this. He stretched back and grabbed a clear vile off of the table. He held it up in front of his face, flicked it a few times, and handed it to me.

"Don't drink it all, about half will do," he instructed.

"How long will it take to work?" I ask with trepidation.

"It'll be nearly instantaneous," he replied, all business.

"See ya on the other side," I said with a wink before unstopping the vile and downing the contents.

It burned, and I spluttered. My body rebelled against it, everything in me screaming _get it out! Get it out! _But, I couldn't. I was aware that I was shaking. I didn't even realize that I was still conscious and could see until everything went black. There was a roaring of blood in my ears, and then suddenly it all stopped. There was silence.

"I love you, bro," I heard Donnie say in the split second between the silence and the drifting.

Then I was gone.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello lovely readers! I know, I know, I've done a crappy job updating. So…. I think I might have to wrap this one up soon. Y'all don't seem to be very interested in it, and I think it has just about run its course. With that in mind, there's a poll on my profile asking what story y'all want next. Check it out or just comment and tell me! I'm all ears! As always, please remember to comment if you like it, follow, or favorite as you see fit. :) Have a great day, and enjoy the chapter!**

I blinked as I woke up, slowly becoming aware of my surroundings again. My immediate thought, once I was awake enough to think, was that it hadn't worked. Everything was just as it had been- I was lying on the couch, Donnie was watching me and wringing his hands worriedly while Casey was collapsed in a nearby chair staring out of the window. I started to sit up but suddenly felt the now- familiar sucking.

_Well, I guess it worked._ I thought to myself as I managed to detangle myself from my body. I began to wander around the house, searching every room for my brother. As I passed from room to room and there was no sign of Leo, worry started to worm its way into me, and a pit formed in my stomach.

"Leo? Leo, where are ya, bro?" I called as I wandered through the house.

There was no answer. I started to make my way up the stairs, calling his name all the way. I went into each room, searching every nook and cranny, and finally I started making way towards the end of the hall. By this point I was terrified, what if Leo had…gone…while we had been downstairs?

I walked cautiously, aware of every sound: every creaking floorboard, every clap of thunder, every breath. I crept down the hall, calling his name as I went.

"Leo? Leo? Leo _where are you_?" I called into the silence.

I was met with silence, and the knot in my stomach tightened. I started to give up hope. He was probably gone and this was all for nothing. How would I tell the guys? Suddenly, I heard a raspy whisper from behind me. I turned on my heel to face whatever it was, but there was nothing there. Confused, I turned back around and kept walking down the hall. I froze as I heard it again.

"Raph…,"

I wheeled around, and again I saw nothing. Dismissing it as my over active imagination, I prepared to walk down the stairs. However, a chilling something grabbed me and pulled me back.

"Raph! Raph, why can't you see me?" came a hauntingly familiar- if a little faint- voice.

"Leo? Where are you?"

I spun around, searching for my brother but he was nowhere to be seen. I felt a biting cold on my arm. I looked down in surprise, yanking it backwards when I noticed the nearly invisible green hand resting on it. I followed the arm up to a chest, neck, then finally a face. It was Leo.

He was nearly invisible and shifting in and out of focus like an image on a TV with a bad signal. His eyes were large in shock and fear, and he looked sick. Faint outlines of the injuries that plagued him in real life had appeared on his body, and he looked absolutely exhausted.

"Leo?" I asked uncertainly, because surely this couldn't be my strong older brother.

"Raph, why are you here? I sent you back," he replied, worry lacing his voice.

"I needed to talk to you," I started, but he cut me off.

"So you tried to kill yourself? Are you insane?" he hissed, his image coming into focus completely in his anger.

"No, it's not like that. Donnie and I have it all figured out. I'll be fine," I said, trying to calm him.

"Really? So, what's this plan entail?" he asked curiously, lifting an angry eye ridge.

"I um, well, I took some poison- but Donnie has the antidote! - and I came to find you. After a little bit, Donnie will administer the antidote and I'll be fine," I explained.

"And if you're not?"

"I'll be fine. You sound just like April," I grumbled.

"I'm assuming she tried to talk you guys out of this?" Leo asked with a smirk.

"Yes," I said.

"Good girl," he laughed.

I smiled at that, but not because I agreed with him. I had missed this- the playful banter, the laughing. Especially his laugh. Suddenly, he fell silent.

"What's wrong?" I asked, studying his now somber face.

"You can't have come to such lengths to talk to me about the weather. What's going on? Is everyone all right?" Leo asked, searching my face for clues.

"No, everyone's not all right. Look, Leo, I don't know how else to put this, but-"I started to explain.

"Oh no, did something happen to Mikey? Or Casey? I hadn't noticed anything…," he said, panic filling his eyes.

"No, no, no. Leo! You. You are the one who isn't all right. You're dying, in case you didn't know. You doing this," I said exasperatedly, gesturing to his flickering form, "is killing you! You have to get back in your damn body so you can heal and wake up!"

"But I have to help you guys," he protested.

Suddenly, he disappeared entirely. I looked around frantically, but I couldn't see him anywhere.

"Leo? Leo!" I found myself yelling for the second time that day.

A strange _pop _resonated through the hall, and I found myself face to face with my visibly shaken brother. He had grown even paler and was panting, his eyes glazed and wide in terror.

"What just happened?" I demanded angrily.

"Nothing. It's fine. It's been happening lately, but it's no big deal," he said waving a hand dismissively and attempting to hide the fear on his face.

"That's garbage. You're terrified. Leo, you're going to disappear entirely if you don't come back!" I argued, anger rising in me.

"I'm fine, Raph. Really. I don't think I need to get back in; and besides, I can't help you guys from there."

"Yes! You would help us more if you were _alive_! Why don't you get that?" I hissed.

"Because you guys are better off without me! I'm a burden, and a bad leader. And I saw what you guys did with Sensei's things… I miss him, Raph. And I miss you guys, but I don't think you need me," he exploded, everything he had bottled up coming out in a rush.

"Leo…," I groaned, taken aback by the outburst.

We stood at the top of the stairs of the farmhouse staring at eachother silently. The storm raged around the outside of the house, and thunder shook the house as wind ripped around it slamming the shudders. The lights flickered, as did Leo, and still we did nothing. Somewhere in the back of my mind a part of me was protesting loudly at the inevitable chick flick moment, but I chose to ignore it.

"Look, Leo," I said finally, "we need you, bro. Now more than ever. It's been three months, and I don't think we can take much more of this. You're right on the edge of life and death, and it's been killing me to watch you waste away all these months. Surely you can't think we didn't care? We lost Sensei, and we _saw _it happen. We were already broken then you wouldn't wake up. Do you know what that does to a person? Mikey barely ever laughs anymore! He forces it, sure, but a real Mikey fully- body laugh? Not in three months. Donnie has been driving himself insane trying to figure out what's wrong, I mean seriously, his blood is probably coffee by now. He doesn't sleep. Casey is still himself, but he's worried. April is beside herself but she's trying to take care of all of us and do what you would want even though I should have been the one doing that. I've been horrible. I've just watched you and ignored them for three months.

"We can't do it anymore. You have to come back," I finished, and then mustering all the courage I had left I managed to get out, "We love you, Leonardo. Come back."

Before he could respond, I felt a sudden tugging and was yanked unceremoniously down the stairs towards the couch where my body lay. I guess the antidote was working.

"Raph!" Leo yelled, terrified.

He started to follow me, but he was too weak to keep up. I looked at him hard and gave a little wave as I was sucked into my body. Exhausted, I sunk into a deep sleep and hoped that when I woke up things would be better.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello lovely readers! So, so sorry for the late update. I had exams, and my dad was in the hospital, and then Thanksgiving, and I had no time. This chapter, unfairly, will probably not be that long either. That being said, enjoy and remember to like, favorite, and review!**

I trudged across the muddy barnyard and into the house. I was sopping wet, exhausted, and frustrated. I dragged my feet past Mikey's chickens as they strutted across the yard and marched up the creaking wooden stairs to the door. Yanking off my mud caked shoes, I walked into the house. I didn't want to know what the guys were doing. They were undoubtedly being stupid, and I didn't want to see it. However, I did barely look as I walked by the room, and surprisingly everything seemed relatively normal.

Mikey was peeking his head in from the kitchen and talking to Casey, Casey was collapsed in a chair fiddling with his hockey stick, Donnie was putting together some sort of contraption on the table, and Raph was passed out on the couch. I kept walking.

Wait. Wait. Raph asleep on the couch? He never did that. I made a quick U-turn, breaking the promise I had just made to myself not ten seconds earlier. Dreading the answer I was about to get, I stood in the doorway to the living room and stared down at the guys. I put my hands on my hips in my most intimidating fashion and glared down at them. (This was good, right? This would make them listen to me?)

Casey glanced up and his eyes widened slightly. He dropped the hockey stick and stood up, nervously scratching the back of his head.

"Oh, um, hey, Red. What's up? You're kinda wet," he stuttered; I raised a suspicious eye brow.

"I've noticed. What's up with _you, _Jones?" I dead panned.

"Oh, um, ya know," he said eloquently.

"Just carrying out the plan," Donnie chimed in nonchalantly.

I blanked. They had actually gone through with the plan? I didn't think they would actually go through with it, especially since I hadn't been there. I turned to Donnie angrily.

"You're what?" I hissed.

"Proceeding with the plan," he stated calmly, meeting my gaze coldly.

I was taken aback, normally Donnie would be apologizing and fixing the problem by now. I crossed my arms and took a step back. Then another. Then another.

"I'm going to check on Leo. Have fun killing Raph," I growled and fled the room.

I raced up the stairs two at a time, and skidded down the hall way trying to hold back my tears. The still-rational side of me protested, saying that I needed to be downstairs with Raph, but I was too angry to care. So much for Splinter helping me, everything was spiraling out of control far too fast. Before I knew it, I found myself in my room. I collapsed onto the bed in a heap, balling the old quilt into my fists.

I don't know how long I stayed there, but I do know that I eventually fell asleep. When I woke up, the sun had set and crickets were chirping loudly outside my window. Someone had put a blanket over me, and in the soft moonlight, I could just make out the outline of a figure standing across the hall in the doorway of the bathroom.

I sat up groggily; straining my eyes in the weak light. The figure wasn't human, at least I didn't think so, so that ruled out Casey. It couldn't be Raph; he was passed out downstairs. I silently cursed Donnie for that, and studied the figure more closely. It wasn't tall enough to be him… it had to be Mikey.

Suddenly, he lurched forward, as if he was in extreme pain. Putting out a hand, he braced himself against the door frame, his other arm pressed tightly against his stomach. I swung my legs out of the bed and raced across the room and into the hall as he slowly sank to the floor.

"Mikey!" I called as slid to the floor next to him.

"Mikey! Mikey, what's wrong, buddy?" I asked him, shaking his shoulder gently to get his attention.

A low groan was my only response. Worriedly, I grabbed both his shoulders and picked him up to look at me.

"Mikey!" I called, more loudly, this time.

However, my voice stuttered to a halt as I found myself face to face with Leonardo. I gasped and stared at him in disbelief as Mikey poked his head out from his bedroom door down the hall.

"Yo, April, can't a turtle get some sleep around here without- _what are you doing?!_" he shouted, running down the hall to meet me.

"Mikey, I woke up, and he was standing in the doorway. I thought he was you," I gasped, still keeping my eyes fixed on his face, taking in every feature.

"April, there's no way that could happen. What's wrong with you?" he asked, his voice quavering with pent up emotion.

"No, Mikey, he was up! He was awake! He's hurting real bad," I started, but he cut me off.

"Ya, because you moved him. Donnie! Donnie come here!" he yelled.

I blinked back tears, why didn't he believe me? He was willing to believe that Raph had a near death experience and had seen Leo, but he wouldn't believe that I had seen him walking?

An eerie silence filled the house, broken only by Leo's ragged breaths. I felt a pressure on my arms and glanced down. Mikey was pushing my arms off of Leo; he was moving me away from him.

"What are you doing?" I whispered.

"Stay away from him," he replied dangerously, then raising his voice again, "Donnie! Where the shell are you?"

I could hear muffled thuds in the distance as Donnie fought his way out of bed, but I barely processed that he was coming. Staring at Mikey with wide eyes, I reached towards Leo again. Mikey pushed me away roughly and pulled Leo closer to him.

"Mikey, really, he was awake! I didn't hurt him," I protested.

Some part of my brain acknowledged that Donnie was coming towards us. That same part also acknowledged that the lights were now on, and Casey was stumbling out of his room.

"What is going on- oh my gosh," Casey mumbled.

"What happened?" Donnie said asked calmly, barely concealing his panic.

"April took him out of the tub! She was yelling at him and shaking him," accused Mikey, pulling Leo's limp body closer to him.

"What?" Donnie exclaimed, staring at me in disbelief.

"No! That's not what happened! He was awake! He was walking around, and I woke up and saw him and then he fell over! I came over to help, and I thought he was Mikey because I didn't think it was possible for him to be awake!" I protested.

"No! You're just mad that we're not following your orders anymore!" Mikey seethed.

"What? You're the one who did nothing to stop Raph from taking the poison!" I shot back.

"That's because it's the only way!"

"Says who?"

"Says Raph!"

"Ya, and where is he?" I hissed.

"Shut up!" roared Donnie, "Leo is the one who is important here. We need to help him. Casey, take them down stairs. I need to think."

Gently, Casey picked me up off the floor and guided me down the stairs with Mikey in tow. We walked in an uneasy silence, both Mikey and I glaring at the world. We walked through the living room, past Raph's prone body on the couch, and into the kitchen. Mikey and I sat down on opposite ends of the table while Casey stared on wearily. After a few awkward moments, Casey shifted his feet and crossed his arms.

"Look, I don't know what the heck is going on. I woke up at oh dark thirty to find you two fighting over Leo who was lying on the floor. My best friend is unconscious in the next room because he went on a 'spiritual journey' to wake up his brother who was nearly killed by a Japanese mafia leader in New York. My home is destroyed and over run by aliens.

"Quite frankly, I'm exhausted, and I don't want to deal with you two. Figure out what ever is going on _quietly_. I'm going to see if I can help Donnie," he stated with a sigh and left the room.

I was taken aback, that was rather mature for Casey Jones. I glanced at Mikey, and he was clearly having similar thoughts. However, rather than laughing like we normally would, we stared at each other coldly and sat in stony silence.

We still hadn't said a word when the sun began to rise.


End file.
